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Anguilla australis
Anguilla australis (''Short-finned eel)' Kingdom: '''Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Anguilliformes Family: Anguillidae Genus: Anguilla Species: Anguilla australis Environment: milieu, climate zone, depth range, distribution range: Marine; freshwater; brackish; benthopelagic; catadromous: depth range 0 - 3000 m. Subtropical; 18°S - 47°S, 140°E - 168°E. Distribution: Southwest Pacific: east coast of Australia and New Zealand, extending north to New Caledonia. Museum records from Fiji and Tahiti are doubtful. Australian and New Zealand forms sometimes recognized as subspecies. Most easily confused with Anguilla'' obscura and the surest way of distinguishing them is to count the vertebrae. Reported from Western and American Samoa. 'Size, weight, age:' Max. length: '''1.30 m' (male), 106.5 cm (female), common length: 65 cm; weight: 7.5 kg; age: 32 years Short description: The body is long and snakelike, roughly tubular and the head is small, with the jaws reaching back to below the eye or further. The dorsal (top) and anal (bottom) fins are of roughly equal length. The colour varies considerably from one individual to another; a deep olive-green is typical but it can be much lighter; golden or even (rarely) yellowish. There are no markings of note, but the underside is pale, often silvery, and the fins greenish. When full grown, they reach about 90 cm. The short-finned eel has a typical regeneration time of 15 to 30 years for females and it reaches a maximum size of about 1.1 m and 3 kg. Males tend to be slower growing and reach a smaller adult size. Anguillid eels are undifferentiated gonochoristic fish. This means that the sex of the animal is determined from an undifferentiated gonad. Differentiation then occurs and an eel becomes male or female, and this is generally correlated to the size (20.0-22.5 cm) of the animal not its age. Biology: Occurs in streams, lakes and swamps. More likely inhabits slow flowing streams or still waters. Feeds on fishes, crustaceans, mollusks, worms, aquatic plants, and terrestrial and aquatic insects. This species does not breed outside its Pacific spawning ground. Migrates to the sea to breed. Maximum length for female eel taken from Ref. 6390. Migrating females in Lake Ellesmere (Canterbury, New Zealand) were reported to be in the range of 48.3 to 102.4 cm, larger than for males 33.8 to 55.4 cm. Despite its slimy appearance, its flesh is of excellent quality, considered a delicacy in many countries; meat suitable for smoking. Life cycle and mating behavior: The reproductive biology of these eels has remained elusive during the marine phase. Much is known about the longer freshwater phase from the juvenile to puberal stage, but much less is known about the marine stage Newer research has identified that tropical species such as A. reinhardtii have a shorter larval migration and faster corresponding growth, suggesting a water temperature effect on growth. Like other anguillids, short-finned eels are remarkably hardy: they can tolerate high water temperatures and low oxygen concentrations, endure long periods without food, and bury themselves in mud or sand and enter an energy-saving torpor when the water temperature drops below 10°C. They are one of the few Australian freshwater fish to have coped well with the wholesale introduction of European and American species. Main reference: Allen, G.R., 1989. Freshwater fishes of Australia. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey. IUCN Red List Status: Not Evaluated CITES: Not Evaluated CMS: Not Evaluated Threat to humans: Harmless Human uses: Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes. Category:Anguillidae, Freshwater eels